IBM/Lotus counts on Domino 7

Latest upgrade to enterprise groupware platform

IBM has announced the release of Lotus Notes/Domino 7, the latest upgrade of its enterprise groupware platform.

According to Big Blue, the upgrade retains the product's existing interface but offers a range of user enhancements as well as greater flexibility for administrators.

Ross Reith. Lotus brand manager in the UK, said: "Domino 7 delivers improved productivity and greater efficiency for administrators through new desktop features and improvements in the back-end which include greater server efficiency."

Improvements aimed at end users include the Autosave function which allows documents or emails to be saved after a defined period. Recipient marking has also been added so that email sent only to the receiver is marked and can be more easily sorted.

The latest release also features improved threading views designed to help users sort a large number of emails by making it easier to find the latest message in a long sequence.

Instant messaging functions have also been boosted with increased indication of status. Users can also switch an IM session over to video or audio real-time collaboration.

The IM 'buddy list' has been improved so that workers can bring up a list of the people with whom they commonly work from within applications, to see who is available. Users can also save an IM chat for later perusal or emailing.

"These improvements have been made without altering the user interface and can be set or locked down by administrators if they want to reduce changes at the user level," said Darren Adams, a spokesman for IBM's messaging and collaboration team.

Domino 7 also features back-end improvements focusing on cost saving, notably by reducing the number of servers required.

IBM stated that for Windows sites 1,500 users can now be supported per server, a 50 per cent increase. The server efficiency has also been increased by 80 per cent for Solaris and a huge 400 per cent for Linux.